Cheques

Kiwibank has gone cheque-free. If you need support transitioning to different ways of making payments, we’ve got resources and friendly experts to help you learn about fast, cheap and safe payment alternatives.

What’s happened to cheques?

On 16 May 2019, we announced our decision to stop issuing and accepting cheques from 28 February 2020. This means after 28 February 2020:

You won't be able to deposit a cheque into a Kiwibank account.

Customers should no longer write cheques. Kiwibank cheques may be accepted for deposit at other banks until 31 March 2020.

Kiwibank has stopped providing Bank Cheques. However, any Kiwibank Bank Cheques issued prior to this date will be honoured as usual even if they're presented after this date.

After 31 March 2020, all customer cheque facilities will be closed.

Why has Kiwibank stopped cheque services?

Stopping our cheque service wasn't an easy decision to make. However, for the last five years the use of cheques at Kiwibank has been declining at a rate of 20% year-on-year as customers choose less expensive ways to pay. In fact, more than 99% of our customers' payments are via alternative methods.

If you're a business customer, we've created a checklist and resources to help you inform your customers that you'll no longer be able to accept cheques.

If you want to pay someone, you can use internet, mobile or phone banking. You'll require the bank account number of the person you're paying. If you don't have these payment options set up, we can help.

If you think you’ll be paying the same person again, you can save their bank account details on your Saved Payee list to make future payments by internet, mobile or phone banking easy.

If you make regular payments to the same person or organisation for the same amount, you can set up an automatic payment.

You can set up a direct debit from your account to pay your utility bills. Just talk to your provider. In some cases, doing this will get you a discount.

To receive a payment:

To receive a payment, you'll need to provide your bank account number to the person paying you. If you aren’t sure where to find it, we can help.

To transfer money from your account at another bank to your Kiwibank account, use the other bank’s internet banking or mobile app. You can also withdraw funds from your other bank and make a cash deposit into your Kiwibank account.

We have an internet banking guarantee to help protect our customers from scams. If you've been the victim of unauthorised activity on your accounts within internet banking or our mobile app, we'll reimburse any money you've lost as long as you’ve complied with our general terms and conditions(PDF 200.5 KB), haven’t acted dishonestly or negligently and have taken reasonable steps to protect your banking.

We’re also partnering with Stepping UP to run workshops for anyone keen to learn more about staying safe online.

Staying safe online

We do everything we can to protect your money and personal information. This includes two online authentication services that provide an extra layer of security when you're using internet banking and our mobile app.

Educate yourself about scams and safety

If you haven’t spent a lot of time online, then the independent online safety watchdog Netsafe would be worth a visit. Netsafe is full of information and tips about how to stay safe online and avoid scams. We also have resources to help you stay safe online.